Pennsylvania county extends mail-in ballot deadline after controversy

A judge in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, issued a ruling Wednesday afternoon to extend the deadline for voters to obtain on-demand, mail-in ballots through Nov. 1, according to the county’s Board of Elections.

That ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump’s campaign earlier in the day against the Board of Elections, demanding an additional day for voters to obtain the ballots, the state’s equivalent to early voting. The lawsuit accused county officials of denying citizens the right to vote and alleged that election workers turned away voters requesting mail-in ballots. Pennsylvanians waited for hours on Tuesday, the final day to request mail-in ballots, in lines that wrapped around the building, according to local news reports. The Republican National Committee petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday for an emergency stay giving Pennsylvanians who were turned away the chance to vote. Mail ballots must be protected for our country’s most important election, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said.

What caused the long lines? Each ballot application takes about 10 to 12 minutes for election workers to process, Bucks County Commissioner and Elections Board Chairman Bob Harvie told local media. It's a cumbersome process for a county with limited staff and a fixed budget, he added. Harvie noted that it's the county’s first time using the new on-demand mail-in ballots in a presidential election. State Secretary Al Schmidt reminded voters Tuesday that mail ballots could be requested online rather than on-demand in-person.

How has the county responded to accusations? Due to a miscommunication, individuals in line to apply for a ballot were briefly told they could not be accommodated, the Bucks County Government wrote on Tuesday. Contrary to rumors on social media, voters who were in line at 5 p.m. were still able to request a ballot that they could either pick up or have delivered in the mail later this week, the county added.

Election accuracy and security are top priorities for leaders across the nation as tensions mount ahead of Tuesday’s election.

In Florida: An election worker was fired on Tuesday after a bag and box of ballots fell out the back of a truck which the driver forgot to secure, according to the Miami-Dade County Elections Department. Witnesses turned the bag in to the police and election officials subsequently confirmed that the containers had not been opened or damaged, the department said.

Dig deeper: Read my report on Colorado’s government leaking passwords for voting equipment a week out from the election.